The Olympic Peninsula has so much marine life – seals, sea lions, porpoises, whales, and dozens of sea birds. Four species of whales inhabit these waters, Orca, but Gray whales, Humpback whales and Minke whales. If you’re lucky, you’ll see them from the shore. But if you want to see them up close, book a whale and wildlife tour.
We (me, mom and my sister) took a 4-hour tour from Port Townsend with Puget Sound Express. It was fabulous weather, the Strait of Juan de Fuca was relatively calm, and while no Orcas were seen, we lucked out with plenty of humpback whales.
After checking in with the Puget Sound Express office, we boarded the 120-passenger catamaran, Saratoga. She was spotlessly clean, comfortable, equipped with 2 restrooms, a galley and capable of speeds up to 40 mph. Wow!
Leaving the marina, we passed Fort Flagler as we headed into the Strait.
Our first view of marine mammals were Steller’s Sea Lions hanging out on a buoy topped with several Pelagic Cormorants. The sea lion in the water wanted to clamber up too, but the others were having none of it. I figure they’ll eventually go to sleep and he’ll sneak up.
A Common Murre bobbing in the water alongside us.
We raced along the Strait, finally catching sight of our first whale, a humpback, when we reached Victoria, BC (which you can see faintly in the far left background).
The Celebrity Solstice heading into Victoria, BC. Okay, while not wildlife per se, I’m sure someone was having a wild time aboard. 🙂
This photo doesn’t do it justice, but the blow from this humpback whale was rainbow colored in the sunlight.
What with the movement of the boat, the photo is off-center, but it’s easy to see how the humpback got its name. And yes, our captain, Christopher, did keep us the required distance away with a bit of careful maneuvering.
Mother and calf humpback whales. The naturalist onboard identified the mother as Hemlock, on the left, and her as-yet-unnamed calf is spouting on the right.
The beauty shot – whale tail!
Thought it would be fun to do a stop-motion video of a humpback whale dive.
A pair of Marbled Murrelets
After a wonderful four hours, it’s back to dry land at the Port Hudson Marina. It’s a lovely little marina, and I appreciated the walk back to the car and the opportunity to regain my “land-legs”!
Things to Note:
- There’s no public restroom at the Puget Sound Express office. You’ll have to walk about a block and half to get to the nearest public restroom. The boat does have restrooms but you’ll have to wait until it’s underway to use them.
- Parking next to the office is paid. Free parking is available about 2 and half blocks away.
- Moving at 40 mph over the water means it’s cold out there, even for me! Bring a sweatshirt or sweater to pull on if you’re going to be out on the viewing platforms for any length of time.
- Get the warm blueberry buckle from the galley onboard – it’s heavenly!
Links of Interest:
- Puget Sound Express – website
- Orca Network – website
- Center for Whale Research – website
